The Tide looking good at QB

By Justin Davis

Spring football practice has come and gone. The intra-squad spring scrimmages in front of thousands of fans has also come and gone. The NFL Draft has come and gone. The point is that from now until summer camps and summer practice, we enter the dead period in sports known as the "dog days of summer." During this period writers and bloggers alike will fantasize, fathom and depict every possible scenario until it all plays out. It with this in mind a look at the Alabama quarterback position is looked at.

The quarterback position is probably the most important one on the field. Alabama is at no loss for talented QB's both on the team and coming. With Greg McElroy at the helm for now, the Tide is poised to repeat as Nation Champions (another topic to be discussed). Greg McElroy has behind him AJ McCarron, Star Jackson and Philip Sims. In the world of recruiting, there are some top QB's with the Tide high on their list.

Greg McElroy has never lost a game, but he also make few mistakes. He's completed over 70% of his passes and thrown very few INT's. The leadership and grit that he plays with almost guarantee the Tide will win the close gut check games. AJ McCarron and Star Jackson showed more than their share of talent and poise in the A-Day game. The consensus seems to be that the hot, strong armed McCarron has overtaken Jackson for the starting job behind McElroy. Jackson has worked hard the past two seasons to learn the offense, after previously being recruited to run Applewright's spread.

Once McElroy is gone, Jackson and McCarron will compete with Under Armour All American Philip Sims from the Tidewater area of Virginia. The Tidewater area produced QB's such as David Giraud and the Vicks. Sims was a very highly touted QB who committed to Alabama very early and stuck with it. He also won the QB skills challenge during the All American game. While he didn't produce eye popping stats during the spring game, his ceiling and potential are limitless.

In addition to the QB's currently on the roster, there are QB recruits with the Tide pretty high on their list as well. Charlotte, NC's Christian LeMay and Ohio's Braxton Miller are perhaps the highest rated. LeMay is coming off a great season where he capped an undefeated record with a State Title. Braxton Miller has the measurables and athleticism to become a very productive college QB.

Assuming that everything holds, the Tide are set at QB for the next 5 years. Things change with the season, which is why all we can do is fathom, fantasize and predict.